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Daily Current Capsules - 23rd January 2020


Defence
IAF inducts its first squadron of Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft equipped with BrahMos missiles

Relevance IN - Prelims (about first squadron of Sukhoi-30 MKI) + Mains (GS III security challenges and their management in border areas)
What's the NEWS

  • The Indian Air Force has inducted its first squadron of Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft carrying the BrahMos missiles in the South at its Thanjavur base in Tamil Nadu
  • The Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Bhadauria inducted the squadron

Know! more about it

  • The newly reinstated 222-squadron, also known as the Tigersharks, would serve as a lethal weapons platform capable of carrying both aerial and maritime roles in the Indian Ocean Region.
  • Thanjavur is strategically located in the southern peninsula and from there, the Tigersharks can dominate the seas and provide very close and integrated support to the Indian Navy.
  • The Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft integrated with the supersonic cruise missiles BrahMos is the strongest maritime combination
  • The newly inducted squadron of Sukhoi-30MKI is armed with 2.5 ton air-launched BrahMos Missile. The supersonic cruise missile is capable of striking targets at a distance of 300 KM.

Squadron

  • A flying squadron or unit is a sub-unit of an air force station which carries out the primary task of the IAF.
  • A fighter squadron consists of 18 aircraft; all fighter squadrons are headed by a commanding officer with the rank of wing commander.

Social Issues
'One nation, one ration card' scheme to be implemented by June 1 across India
Relevance IN - Prelims (about one nation one card) + Mains (GS II Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation + Issues relating to poverty and hunger.)
What's the NEWS

  • Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan announced that the 'One Nation, One Ration Card' scheme will be implemented by June 1 across the country.

Know! more about the scheme

  • Under this scheme a beneficiary will be able to avail benefits across the country using the same ration card
  • This facility has been started in 12 states in the country on the first day of the New Year.
  • Under this facility, the beneficiaries of the public distribution of these states can get their share of rations in any of the 12 states in which they are residing, according to the Union Minister for Food and Public Distribution.
  • One of the key advantages of the One Nation One Ration Card Scheme is that beneficiaries will be able to avail their entitled food grain under the National Food Security Act from any Fair Price Shop located across India.
  • With the all-India roll-out of the scheme from 1st June 2020, migrants will be able to buy subsidized food grains from any fair price shop across the country, without having to apply for and obtain a new ration card.
  • Under the new One Nation One Ration Card scheme, the beneficiary of the scheme will be identified and verified through Aadhaar authentication at the Fair Price Ships on the electronic point of sale (e-POS) devices.
  • As per the data provided by PIB, NFSA currently provides coverage for about 81.34 Crore people across the country, who will now be able to take advantage of the One Nation One Ration Card Scheme.

State Specific
Andhra Pradesh three-capital plan
Relevance IN - Prelims (about the three capital plan)
What's the NEWS

  • The Andhra Pradesh assembly passed the Capital Region Development Authority Repeal Bill 2020 and the AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of all Regions Bill 2020 to decentralise the state's capital between Amaravatri, Visakhapatnam and Kurnool.

Know! more about it

  • Last year in December, the state-government appointed an Expert committee which recommended that Visakhapatnam be made the executive capital, Kurnool in the Rayalaseema region the legal capital with the high court located there, and suggested that Amaravati could house the governor's office and the state assembly, becoming the legislative capital.
  • The Andhra Pradesh state assembly passed the bill proposing creation of three state capitals in Amravati, Visakhapatnam and Kurnool on January 20, 2020. The bill was passed without any amendments.
  • The three-capital proposal has been pushed forward to enable decentralisation and inclusive development of all regions, thereby ensuring "balanced and inclusive growth" of Andhra Pradesh.
  • The new draft bill proposes setting up of a legislative capital in Amaravati, executive capital in Visakhapatnam and judicial capital in Kurnool.
  • The new draft bill also proposes the division of the state into various zones and the establishment of zonal planning and development boards.

Economic Development
IMF revises downward India's economic growth to 4.8% for 2019-20
Relevance in - Prelims (about the report outcome + about IMF) + Mains (GS III Economic development)
What's the NEWS

  • The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday sharply revised downward India's growth forecast by 130 basis points to 4.8% for 2019-20
  • Global growth to increase modestly from 2.9 percent in 2019 to 3.3 percent in 2020 and 3.4 percent in 2021
  • The slight downward revision of 0.1 percent for 2019 and 2020, and 0.2 percent for 2021, is owed largely to downward revisions for India

Know! about the report findings

  • India slowed sharply "owing to stress in the nonbank financial sector and weak rural income growth"
  • India's economic growth had decelerated to a six-and-a-half-year low of 4.5% in the September quarter.
  • Indian economic growth is estimated to be at 4.8 percent in 2019 and it is expected to rise to 5.8 percent in 2020 and 6.5 percent in 2021.

Suggestive measures given by IMF

  • Indian government should avoid a fiscal stimulus to boost the sagging economy and, instead, opt for an easier monetary policy.

Know! about IMF

  • The International Monetary Fund (IMF), is an international organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 189 countries working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world
  • It plays a central role in the management of balance of payments difficulties and international financial crises.

Information Technology
Ravi Shankar Prasad inaugurated second edition of NIC Tech Conclave-2020
Relevance IN - Prelims (about NIC tech conclave) + (GS II e governance + GS III awareness in the field of IT)
What's the NEWS

  • Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad inaugurated the second edition of NIC Tech Conclave-2020
  • The two-day event is being organized by the National Informatics Centre.

Know! more about the Conclave

  • This Conclave will contribute immensely to the capacity building of Government officers across the country and help in delivering high-quality citizen-centric services.
  • This year's theme is Technologies for Next-Gen Governance
  • The conclave will cover the latest trends in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) that are applicable for the expansion of various products and platforms of eGovernance.
  • The National Informatics Centre (NIC) has been playing a vital role in the smooth application of the Information and Communications Technology at various Government levels.
  • The application of ICT has facilitated wider transparency in the services offered to citizens, enhanced the quality of services and enabled data-driven planning & management.

Know! about National Informatics Centre (NIC)

  • National Informatics Centre (NIC) is an attached office under Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India
  • NIC provides infrastructure to help support delivery of Government IT services and delivery of some of the initiatives of Digital India.
  • NIC was established in 1976 and is under the aegis of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
  • Besides establishing a modern ICT Infrastructure, the NIC has been providing e-Governance & Information and Communications Technology (ICT) support to the Government for the last 4 decades.
  • NIC is credited with helping the Indian Government embrace IT in the 1990s and has also helped disseminate E-Governance to the masses.

Social Issues
India ranks 76th on WEF's Social Mobility Index, Denmark tops the list
Relevance In - Prelims (about Social Mobility Index and its findings) + Mains (GS II Social issues)
What's the NEWS

  • India has been ranked very low at 76th place out of 82 countries on a new Social Mobility Index compiled by the World Economic Forum, while Denmark has topped the charts.

Know! more about the Social Mobility Index findings

  • WEF lists India among the five countries that stand to gain the most from a better social mobility score

Measuring countries across five key dimensions distributed over 10 pillars
1. Health
2. Education (access, quality and equity)
3. Technology
4. Work (opportunities, wages, conditions); and
5. Protections and institutions (social protection and inclusive institutions)

  • In the case of India, it ranks 76th out of 82 economies. It ranks 41st in lifelong learning and 53rd in working conditions.
  • The Areas of improvement for India include social protection (76th) and fair wage distribution (79th).
  • The most socially mobile societies in the world, according to the report's Global Social Mobility Index, are all European.

Social Mobility Report

  • The Global Social Mobility Index is designed to provide policy-makers with a means to identify areas for improving social mobility and promoting equally shared opportunities in their economies
  • The inaugural Social Mobility Report showed that across the Global Social Mobility Index, only a handful of nations across the 82 countries covered have put in place the right conditions to foster social mobility.
  • The top five are all Scandinavian, while the five economies with the most to gain from boosting social mobility are China, the United States, India, Japan and Germany.

Prelims Factoids
12th National Tribal Youth Exchange Programme inaugurated in Puducherry

Relevance IN - Prelims (about the National Tribal Youth Exchange Programme)
What's the NEWS

  • Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Dr Kiran Bedi inaugurated the 12 the National Tribal Youth Exchange Programme in Puducherry
  • Two hundred youths from Naxal-affected districts of Chattisgarh are taking part in this week-long programme.
  • The programme has been jointly organized by the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) and Puducherry Government with a view to ensure development and empowerment of the tribal youths.
  • They will be visiting many places to know about the language, customs, culture, arts, dressing patterns, food pattern and other aspects of Puducherry.

Know! about Nehru Yuva Kendras

  • Nehru Yuva Kendras were established in the year 1972.
  • Later in year 1987 under Rajiv Gandhi Government it became Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), an autonomous organization under Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, within the Government of India.
  • It is largest and unique grassroot level youth organisation in the world, which integrates power of the youth based on the principle of voluntarism, self-help and community participation.

There are two main objectives of NYKS

  • provide rural youth avenues toward nation building
  • provide opportunities to develop their personality and skills.

Environment Conservation
India 5th among countries with corporate commitments to science-based targets
Relevance IN - Prelims (about Carbon Disclosure Project and the findings by Global Reporting Initiative) + Mains (GS III Environment conservation)
What's the NEWS

  • India has ranked 5th among the countries surveyed for corporate commitments to science-based targets (SBT), ahead of Germany and Sweden, according to a report by a non-profit organisation

Know! more about the project

  • Carbon Disclosure Project is an initiative of the Global Reporting Initiative, is aimed at measuring the carbon reduction activities undertaken by different companies and firms operating in various countries across the globe.
  • The report surveys corporate commitments to science-based targets (SBT) and evaluates the climate change risk that they are exposed to.
  • The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) India annual report, which examines carbon reduction activities of companies, shows a whopping 58 Indian companies, 98 per cent of the 59 firms surveyed between 2018 and 2019, have board-level oversight of climate-related issues.
  • India was ranked 5th, ahead of Germany and Sweden. India is the first developing economy with maximum number of companies committing to the science-based targets.
  • The US and Japan topped the list with 135 and 83 companies, where as the UK ranked third with 78 countries, and France took the fourth spot with 51 companies.

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